Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog and its creators.
A/N: Thanks again for reading this story and for the support, now let's go with the chapter.
Chapter 18: Teaching Again
Ellie can't believe what she was seeing. Soon they crossed the big dune, there were two surfboards stuck in the sand. Ellie doesn't know what to think right there, but she was hoping that the answer Joel will give her when she asks will be the one she wanted since she arrived here. After a few long minutes, Ellie looks at Joel with wild open eyes.
"Is this… what I think it is?" she asked with a surprised expression.
Joel crossed his arm in front of his chest and looked at her. "If you are thinking about me teaching you about surfing… the yes is what you think it is," said Joel with a smile.
"But… but… I lost the bet… so you don't… have to… do this… I mean, it's not that I don't want to… but… I-" Ellie starts to mumble not knowing what to say or think. Yes, she wants Joel to teach her, but knowing a little more about his past, she knows that somehow this will be difficult for him especially after the accident a few days back.
"I know… you lose the bet, but as I can see how much you want to do this… I think that it will be good to help you… well at least to teach you the basics, be a surf-" Joel does not even finish as he sees Ellie's body jump on him and her arms wrap around his neck.
"Thank you… thank you so much…" Ellie buries her face in his shoulder as some tiers start to form in her eyes. "You don't know what this means to me Joel… so thank you." Joel hear her sobbing a few times and knew that she was going to cry, so he slowly moved his arm behind her and hugged her tight. Ellie burned her face on her shoulder only to hold back the urging to kiss him right there.
After a few minutes, Joel spoke again. "Is not a big deal… so you don't need to thank me… I will just teach you the basics. Being a surfer will take a lot of time and years of practice," said Joel trying to calm her down. He knew how much she wanted to do this, but not how emotional she would be about it. Hugging her feels so good and for some reason, he doesn't want to move away, but he needs to. After one more minute, he moves his arm away from her back and waits for the girl to move away from him.
Ellie slowly moves away from him and moves one arm to wipe some tiara from her eyes. "I'm sorry… I don't know what comes to me… and this… this is only joyful tears," she said, a little embarrassed.
Joel put one hand on her shoulder to calm her down. "You don't need to apologize. I know how this meant to you, that is why I want to teach you."
"Thank you… I know what this means to you too… especially after… oh shit! How are you going to teach me if you are not supposed to be doing this?" Ellie changes from happiness to worry in a second.
"Don't worry we're not going to the water yet… and when we need to, we're not going to do it here," said Joel looking now at the ocean. "You're right, the waves here are too dangerous for practice."
"So how are we going to do this? I already tried a few times when I arrived, but I don't know how to stay on top of the board."
"That is what we're going to work on first." Joel starts walking toward the boards. "C'mon, I will teach all you need to know about surfing. Then we start to practice how to stay on the board."
"Sure… I want to learn everything," she said excitedly and followed him.
Soon they arrive at where the boards are, and Joel grabs one of them. "Okay… first you need to know your board and how it works… you need to know all the parts of and what they are for."
Ellie stands in front of him with her full attention. "Okay… I'm ready."
"Okay… first you need a good wax to keep the board from being too sleepy. Will we talk more about that later? Second, do you see this cable here? You will wrap one part to your ankle, so that will keep you attached to the board in the water. That way you don't get separated from it when you fall. As the board is always going to float, that is a good way to keep you close to the surface too. But you need to control your swim because being ankle to the board can get bad too, "
"Okay," she said while looking at the board. Ellie looks at him as he shows her the part of the board she needs to pay more attention to. "I didn't know that surfing would be so complicated."
"Yeah, it is… it's not just going into the water and standing up on a surfboard… It can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. If you fall and the board is pulled under and gets stuck in a rock or something the board will pull you with it and you can drown. So you need to be careful with that." Joel moves the board around to start showing her the other part she needs to know. Joel goes slowly and takes a good 30 minutes to tell her all she needs to know about a surfboard. After that, he put his board on the sand and suggested Ellie do the same with hers. "Now… you need to consider your board as part of you if you want this to work… now let's start on how you need to move on top of the board so you can keep your balance and not fall into the water."
Ellie stands on top of her board and looks at him. "Okay… we can step up that part… I already know how to swim on top of it… so we can start with the other part," she answers.
Joel moves closer to her. "Wrong… you need to learn everything from scratch… don't assume that you know something, because that will be your first mistake." Joel moves in front of her and puts his hand behind his back. "So… are you ready to learn or not?"
"Sorry…" said Ellie while getting off the board and standing firmly beside it. "I'm ready to learn everything… Mr. Miller."
Joel smiles at that. "Don't need to be so formal… this is not the army." Joel moves closer to her and looks at her face. "Now, I will teach you how to move your hand like you're in the water… then how to get up on the board when you are closer to riding a wave."
"Okay… Sr… I mean," she starts to say all nervous. "How do I call you? Teacher? sensay?"
"Just call me Joel… Now, get on the board and lay on it." Ellie did as he said and lay on the board. "Now, show me how you swing on it?"
Ellie mimics the swimming process for a few minutes, before looking at Joel. "How was that?" she asked him.
Joel crouched beside her. "You did okay… but since this will be better if I show you when we practice on the water, let's start with how you will stand on the board."
"Okay…"
"Now, let's see how you stand up on the board." Joel stands up and moves to the side. "Pretend that you're swimming for a minute then stand up on the board."
Ellie starts to do what he said and after a few minutes, she moves up on the board and extends her arm to the side. "How was that?" she said with a smile. "I think that watching other people do it helps a lot."
Joel moves closer to her and lowers her arm slowly. "That was too slow and you're out of balance…" said Joel while looking at her position on the board. Yeah, watching other people do it can help… but every person has his style and also makes mistakes too and you don't want to learn how to make mistakes… so let's work on how not to do that." Joel goes to his board and looks at her. "Now… watch me and see how I do it." Joel lay on his board and slowly started to show her how to do it. Joel continues teaching her how to move and get up on the surfboard. How to stand up and how to move and stand on it. After two hours of practice on the sand, Joel told Ellie to get a break. So he got out of his bag the two towels and they both sat on them. A minute later, he passed her a bottle of water.
Ellie takes it and drinks half of the water in a few seconds before speaking. "How bad am I doing so far?" she asks while looking at him.
"Don't focus yourself on that… this takes years… and you're not that bad… surfing is a sport or a hobby for some people, but for others more than that. The people that got good at this, ride those waves by instinct and even feel the waves in their souls… We know those waves better than we know ourselves." Joel looks at the ocean while drinking some of his water.
Ellie looks at him with admiration. "I know that you're forced to quit, but looking at you and hearing you talk about all this… I can see how much you miss it." Ellie said before looking at the ocean too. "I read a few things about your surfing time on the internet… What do you talk about when you're interviewed? I saw the pictures when you won your last competition and how happy you were and it is a little sad that you lost all that."
"Yeah… and one mistake destroys all that. But I have all those good times with me… but even that does not last forever. Fame is something that you have to embrace until the end because at some point it will be someone better than you… and with time you get forgotten. But surfing is more than a competition, it is a way of life, and when you lose that… well," Joel drank the rest of his water.
Ellie turns her head and looks at him. "What do you think will happen to you? Do you think that because you can't surf anymore you lost your purpose?"
"Is not what I think, is what happened. Well, not completely… I did try to do something else… but I always end up thinking about surfing."
"Why don't you teach then? Or do something that has to do with surfing?"
Joel shook his head. "Don't worry I try all that, but in the end, it doesn't work out well… anyway you're doing this for another reason so you don't need to worry… this is not about me and the past stays in the past and we can't change it even if we wanted to.
"I see… but I think that you should teach… for I can see here, this island needs someone like you. Speaking of that… Why do the men that surf here don't like women surfing? I saw a lot of women in the national competition, so what is the problem?" Ellie is still offended about that. She tries a few times to find someone to help her, but the boys and men that surf around here treat her like shit. Some of them even offered their help if she got out with them.
"I respect the women in this sport and I don't think that all surfers here want to see them surfing. But a lot of surfers come here from other countries where they don't like women in any sport… yeah I know that is stupid, but that is the way they are. Even some locals think that too, but not all of them. I have seen a few women surfing here, but as they're not appreciated by some of them, they use beaches that they do not use." At that moment Joel feels Ellie's body pushing him to the side.
"Well, I'm glad you do not think like that… What about your ex-girlfriend? Did she surf too?" Ellie watches Joel's change of mood as soon as she mentions his ex. "Sorry… I didn't-"
"Is okay…" he said without looking at her. "Yeah… she was a surfer too, well not like me but she loves it." Joel turns his head and looks at the two boards on the sand. "Actually, the board you're using was hers… she leaves it when she… go."
"Joel… I'm so sorry. I should not bring that up again, I forget how that bothers you."
"Yeah… I don't like to touch that too much, but I guess that it will come out one day… I just don't know what to talk about now. I loved surfing… but I try to leave all that behind… I'm just doing this for you…"
Ellie moves closer to him and smiles. "I know… and I thank you for that. I'm really glad that you're doing this for me and I promise that I will do all that you said." She put her head on his shoulder and looked at the ocean. "Ohhh… man I can do this all day… it feels so great," she said in a lower voice.
Up in the dune behind Joel's house, Rodrigo was standing there looking down at them. "Bien Hecho… Ellie." says the old man with a smile on his face. "Desde que te vi… supe que tú abrirás su corazón de nuevo. The man looks at them for a few minutes. After that, he saw Joel and Ellie stand up and walk back to the boards. He watches Joel teaching her how to keep her balance on the board. He heard them laugh a few times, and that was the signal for him to get away from there and leave them alone. He hopes this works out for both of them, even though he knows that Joel doesn't much like the age difference, but Ellie seemed to not mind that. After a few more minutes, Rodrigo turns around and walks back to his car.
Joel teaches Ellie a few more things for two hours after their break, then calls the day. "I think that is enough for today… we can go tomorrow to a place I know and start practicing on the water," said Joel before picking up his board and thrusting it into the sand.
Ellie grabs hers and does the same. "So what do we do now? Is still early… Can we go there now?"
"No… is it too late to go to that place, besides I have to go to Rodrigo's house and… what are you doing?" Joel stopped as soon he saw Ellie grab the zipper of her dive suit and open it up.
"Take this off and go into the water." Ellie removes the dive suit and drops it to the side beside the board revealing her new red bikini. "Are you coming?" she said while starting to walk toward the water.
"This is not a good place to swim…" Joel said with a worried tone.
"Ahhhh… it doesn't look that bad… Besides, we can stay close to the shore…"
"I don't recommend it, the current here is too unpredictable, and we didn't come here for that either."
Soon Ellie touches the water, she stops and turns around. "Yeah… I know, but since the class is over… I was thinking about swimming a little bit. Wearing that suit without being in the water was too hot for me… so now I need to get wet and have some fun."
"I don't think that is a good idea-hey!" Soon he starts talking, Ellie moves closer and pulls him toward the water. "Ellie… please." Joel tries to resist her and hold back, but Ellie continues pulling him toward the water. Joel doesn't know how she can pull him since she is smaller than him, but maybe it was because he really wanted to go to the water with her. It was a hot day and they had been on the beach at least for half a day. So maybe going to the water was not a bad idea after all. After a few minutes of struggling, he just let Ellie pull him into the water. "Okay… okay… but just for a little while and don't go too far… this beach is not good for a pleasant swim."
Ellie smiles. "Fine… and don't worry. I will not be going to let you drown." They continue walking into the water until it covers half of their bodies. The high waves made them jump a little on the water, but it wasn't that bad. Ellie quickly goes under to wet her body and comes up with a splash, wetting Joel in the process.
"Hey! What do you do that for? Are you five?" Joel quickly moves back and uses his hand to try to cover his face from the water Ellie was sending toward him again.
Ellie smiled but continued sending water in his direction. "What? You have never been in a water fight before?" said Ellie while sending another splash of water toward his face.
"Yeah… when I was a kid… and I don't think we're that-hey stop that…" Joel turns his body as soon Ellie sends more water his way. Ellie saw Joel turning and moving toward her, so Ellie turned around and started to try to run away from him. She goes under the water and starts swimming away from Joel. Joel quickly dives after her and tries to catch her. But the water was so disturbed and wild by the waves that he couldn't see her. He goes to the surface and clears his eyes off the water before starting to look for her. "ELLIE!" he starts to yell while looking around. "Shit!... Ellie, where are you? I told you not-" he stops when he feels a body jumping on his back.
"Got you!" said Ellie while wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
"Shit girl… you scare me."
"That is what you get for trying to get me… Now you're mine… there is no escape for you now," said Ellie with a playful voice.
Joel starts to feel something inside as her body presses on him. He can feel her breasts on his back and her hot breath on his neck when she talks. He likes her, but in moments like this he feels something more, but what is he expecting? He is a man and Ellie is a lovely young woman so it is natural that he starts to feel things. But maybe that is the problem, Ellie is too young for him and even though he is having fun, he doesn't want to hurt her.
Ellie, on the other hand, seems to like being close to him no matter their age difference and right now she loves the feeling his body was making her. She knows that Joel's heart is hurt for some reason she doesn't know yet completely, but so is hers. Maybe not for the same reason, but she thinks that maybe two broken hearts can heal together. Ellie closes her eyes and holds him tight from behind not wanting to let him go. Her mind was lost in time and her heart was bitten fast. She does want this moment to stop and wants to be like this forever. What is happening to her? She had never felt like this for a man before, but it felt good.
"Hey… are you alright?" asked Joel while walking toward the shore.
Ellie opens her eyes and looks forward into the beach sand. She can feel now, Joel's hand holding her thighs as he continues walking. "Yeah… I'm fine… why?" She was glad that he couldn't see her red face and it was not because of the sunburn.
"You got me worried for a second there… you stop talking and move, so I thought you fainted back there or something."
"Oh… no, no… I just close my eyes for a few seconds and… I think I get lost in my thoughts."
Joel moved his head a little to the side. "A few seconds? It was more like a few minutes… I even called your name a few times and you didn't respond." he said worriedly.
"Really!... I don't think it was that long," said Ellie, a little embarrassed.
Joel finally walks out of the water and moves his hand out under her legs to let her get off of his back. Ellie slowly moved her legs down to the sand and detached her arm from his neck and moved away from him. "Thanks, Joel… for doing all this for me… it was really nice of you," she said standing on the sand behind him.
Soon Joel was sure that Ellie was away enough from him, and he turned around. Joel looked into her eyes and noticed that something was going on inside her mind. So he moved a little closer and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.
Ellie looks into his eyes, trying to hide her feelings and try to find what to say. She knew that Joel saw something different in her, but the last thing she needs is for Joel to see her like this. A lot of things were crossing her mind as she continued looking at him, but the one that she really needed to hold back was the urging to kiss him right there. She didn't know what to do with that, but she really wanted to kiss him. She wants to do it since he brought her here and told her that he will teach her how to surf, but that will be a lie since she wanted to kiss him even before that. But that was something that she needed to think about before acting on it.
"Yeah… I'm fine… sorry I worry you… I must be a little tired or something." She doesn't know if that excuse is going to work, but she needs to distract him enough before he notices something else in her.
Joel looks at her directly into her eyes and knows that that was just an excuse to cover whatever it was on her mind. But if she doesn't want to talk about it, maybe it is better to let that pass and don't talk about it. "Okay… maybe it is a good time to go back to the house and get something to eat." Joel removes his hand from her shoulder and turns around.
"Yeah… I think that is a good idea… I mean we need to shower first and…" maybe it is better if I shot up before I said something wrong. She watches as he picks up his towels and the other things and puts them inside the bag. Ellie picked up her towel and put it around her shoulder. "Do you think that we can go to the market? I need to buy a few things and if you notice your fridge is almost empty even with what Rodrigo brought a few days ago."
Joel turns his head and looks at her. "Sure, we can go after taking our bath… besides I need to go to Rodrigo's house to pick up the stuff we leave there."
"Oh… speaking of that. I think I left some of my clothes there including my baseball cap."
Joel grabs his board and starts walking on the sand. "Are you sure you leave that there? I don't remember you having that when we went there."
Ellie grabs the other board and her dive suit before starting to follow him. "I have on it when we go on the boat… but I think I put it in my backpack with the change of clothes, but I didn't see it here when I looked for it this morning, so I think that it is still there."
"Okay then… we can go there first and check. I don't bring any of our stuff when l bring you to the house drunk, so it is probably there."
"Yeah, don't remember me that… but I hope it is there… that cap means a lot to me…" they pass the dune that divides part of the beach and start walking up the dune sand toward the house.
"Are you a baseball fan?" Joel asked while continuing walking.
Ellie walks closer to him before answering him. "I was when I was little… but this one belonged to my dad… and is one of the few things I have left from him."
Joel continues walking up but turns his head to look down at her. "Oh, I see. Don't worry… I'm sure we will find it there."
"I hope so… I don't know what I would do if I lost that cap."
After Ellie and Joel take their respective showers and put on clean clothes. They jump into Joel's jeep and head to Rodrigo's house. The man wasn't there and neither was his boat so Joel thought that he went out with some tourists or was out fishing with his friends. Lucky for Joel he knew where he hid his spare key and was able to go inside. After searching for their stuff in the house, they finally found them and Ellie was happy to find her father's baseball cap inside her backpack.
She put it on and looked at Joel. "I'm so glad that it was here… I was starting to worry… I don't know what I will do if I lose it."
"Did your father was a baseball fan?"
"Not a real fan since he worked a lot when I was a kid… but he likes to watch them with me sometimes when he is at home. But when he retires, he takes me to a few baseball games and in one of them I buy a cap for him since it was Father's Day. It was the first time that we spent the whole day together and it was wonderful. He bought me one in another game we went to, but one year later I lost mine on a trip to the mountain and he gave me his. It was the last time we did something together before he got really sick and can't do much after that." Ellie takes the cap off and looks at it. Joel can see the tiers forming in her eyes and how hard she tries not to cry there. Joel knows how sad that can be, losing a parent is never easy.
Joel put his bag on the closing table, walked toward her, and hugged her. "Is okay if you want to cry, Ellie. I know it is hard to lose a father… and you don't need to keep all that pain inside of you.'' He hugged her tight and after a minute he felt Ellie's hand wrapping around him and he hear the sobbing sound on his chest. "I bet your father was a great guy… and he loves you very much… try to keep that in your mind every time you feel sad. He wanted for you to be happy, so keep your happy moments with him close to your heart." They stay silent for a few minutes, but Joel can feel her silent cry.
"Thank you… Joel," she said before hugging him harder. "That means a lot to me…"
After a few minutes, both of them get separated from the hug. "Okay, let's do something else… Why don't we go to a nice place and have a nice dinner, instead of eating at my house? It will be my treat."
"Joel, you don't have to do that… you already do a lot of things for me today… and I-" she stopped when Joel put one finger on her lips to stop her.
"Please… don't talk… for now," said Joel before turning around and walking to where his bag was and grabbing it. "You don't need to worry about that… it's just dinner." he put his bag over his shoulder and looked back at her. "Besides, we can use that to talk a little more if you want."
Ellie's eyes get wilder. "Really! Do you want to talk more about yourself?"
"Like you said… I don't have to give you my whole story, but there are a few things that we can talk about… that is if you want to know a little more about this old asshole."
Ellie put her hand on her waist and looks at him with curious eyes. "Okay… who are you and what happened to the grumpy Joel?"
Joel laughs a little before starting to walk toward the front door. "What!... you don't like this Joel?"
Ellie grabs her backpack and starts following him. "Oh… I like this one a little, but I will miss the other one if he goes away… and another thing, stop calling yourself old, you're not that old."
Joel opens the screen door and stops on the porch to wait for Ellie. "Well… you are not going to call yourself young when you are 40…" said Joel with a smile. "Now let's get out of here before the old man comes back and wants to have another drinking party."
"Ohhhh… no. I think I have enough of that stuff for a lifetime," she says while exiting the house and watching Joel closing the door.
"Okay, then… let's get out of here… I know a good place that we can go to eat." both of them walk toward Joel's jeep and get in. After they get ready Joel drives away.
Joel drives around the coast and away from the little bay town for half an hour until he arrives at the place he was looking for. The place was another restaurant on a cliff close to the coast, but it was smaller than the one they went to before. The view of the ocean was incredible and Ellie was happy that Joel could know a lot of great places there. The place was almost full, but since Joel knew one of the waitresses, she found them a good table to seat. After the woman went to bring their drinks and some snacks, they were left alone at the table.
"Soooo… do you know every woman around here?"
Joel almost choked on the water he was drinking. "What!... Are you jealous?" he said in a teasing way.
"Pfft… you wish." Ellie quickly grabs the glass of water in front of her to cover up her red check.
"Remember… I have been living here for more than ten years… and I have been giving tours to people for almost two, so it is good for me to know all the good places around here and their people too. So to answer your question, yes I know a lot of women around here, but that does not mean that I go out with them."
Ellie needs to change the conversation topic quickly because she starts to feel jealous and this was her chance to know more about Joel. "Speaking of your touring job… I think that you should make that tour business more official. I think you're good at it and maybe that can help you to get more clients."
"More official?" Joel said while lowering the glass of water on the table.
Ellie put the glass of water down too and looked at him more directly. "Yeah… like finding an office, getting some brochures, a routine, and announcing yourself more… you know things like that. You will get more customers that way. Is it good for you to promote yourself more or do people just use the ones the hotel promoted?"
"That sounds interesting and I thought about it a few times, but do you know how much all that will cost? besides, I prefer to stay the way I am, some time is better to stay low."
"But you will get more customers that way and since you lost your job in the bar… you will need the extra money."
"I…" Joel was going to reply to that, but he was saved by the bell when Sonia the waitress came back with their drinks and was ready to take their orders.
"Okay, Aquí tienen sus bebidas y un plato de bolitas de queso para empezar," Said the women, while putting the two pina coladas on the table in front of them and the plate with the food in the middle. "So, estan listos para ordenar?" asked the woman while looking at Joel with a smile.
Joel opened the menu cart just for a moment just to find what he was looking for. After a minute he looked at Ellie. "Would you mind if I order the same for both of us?"
"No, go ahead, I trust you," she said before grabbing her drink and taking a sip.
"Okay…" he closed the menu and passed it to Sonia. "Ok, traeme dos Mariscadas por favor."
"Con mucho gusto… Joel," she wrote the order and leaned down to Joel's ear. And started to murmur something.
Ellie moves her drink to her mouth while watching Joel smile at whatever the woman said to him, in Spanish that she did not understand. She hates that sometimes, so she needs to make notes to try to learn more of that language. After a few minutes, the woman moves away from Joel and walks away from the table telling them the food will be ready soon. Ellie was happy that the woman was gone. Joel already told her that he has slept with a few women in the past, but she hopes that women do not want to sleep with him now. She doesn't know why she feels so jealous, but she does.
Ellie lowers her drink and looks Joel in the eyes. "So what she said to you? I see you smile at it." Did she give him her number? Or the address of her house? Well… Joel probably knows where she lives by now… fuck… I hate skanking women.
"Oh, don't mind that… It was nothing… really." He answered her, trying not to get much into what the woman said to him.
Ellie no was even close to buying that the woman did not want something from him or at least told him something he didn't want her to know. But decided not to say anything else about the subject. What is she going to say to him anyway? Is not like Joel and she was going out.
"Sorry for asking this… I know it is not my business, but I was wondering how you manage to pay for this entire vacation. Especially if you are still at school, and from what I remember you're not coming from a louder family… right?" he said while grabbing his drink and watching Ellie's expression. "I don't mean anything bad… I'm just curious because I see how much money you're spending here."
Ellie smiles. "Is it okay… I don't mind you asking." She takes another sip of her drink. "Before answering you… I want to tell you… that this is really good… now to answer your question… no, I'm not rich if that was you thinking."
"Oh… too bad. I was hoping that you're rich… so that way I don't have to feel bad for taking too much money from you," he said while laughing a little.
"Ha, ha… sorry, but you don't have to feel bad for that. I think you're worth every penny I use on this trip," she said with a smile on her face. "But seriously… I do work when I'm not at school, that is why I need this summer to get away from all that… is really exhausting."
"So, you just save money for this vacation?"
"In part, yeah… but my dad had life insurance and left everything to me since he and my mom were divorced before he got sick. Half of the money was assigned to pay for college and the rest goes to a bank account in my name." she gets another sip from the drink before continuing. "I used my savings for this vacation since the money in that account I only use for emergencies."
"Oh… I see. Well, it is great that your father left you some money for your education, even if is still sad that he is gone. I'm sure he loves you very much."
"He did."
They continue talking about a few things Ellie has done on her previous trips. Joel tries to avoid talking more about her dad because he knows how much it affects her. 20 minutes later Sonia arrived with the food. After the woman asks if they need something else, Joel tells her that all was okay and thanks her. The woman smiles at him again before she walks away leaving the two of them alone.
"So… what is this exactly?" said Ellie looking at the food and trying to take the woman out of her mind.
"It's called… Mariscada. Is rice with some different kinds of seafood and spice." Joel takes a bite in his mouth and tastes it. "Hmm… this tasted good," he said while taking another bite and then looking toward Ellie.
"Okayyyy," Ellie takes a bite herself and closes her eyes to get more of the flavor. "You're right… this tastes great." As they continued eating, Ellie wanted to ask Joel about Tess and what happened between them, but maybe there was not the time for that. Also, she wanted to know who Tommy was, which made him sad when Rodrigo mentioned his name the other day. It was obvious that it was a painful subject for Joel, so she wanted to know more. But she was enjoying the evening and celebrating that Joel decided to teach her about surfing, so why ruin all that for just some curiosity questions?
After dinner ended, Joel drove back to his house. And told Ellie to rest because tomorrow he will take her to a beach for a surfing lesson in the water. Ellie was happy to hear that and was really excited about tomorrow's activities. She went and took a shower as soon as they arrived at the house and went to bed early. She was glad that the woman didn't come back to the table and that Joel didn't tell her that he was going out after they arrived. The last thing she wanted in her mind was to imagine Joel having sex with another woman. She knew that that wasn't her business, but she was happy that he didn't go out with her. So after all that, Ellie went to bed and was going to sleep, but when she checked her phone, she saw a few messages from her mom.